Are you looking around your office and seeing a lot of red today? Seeing red in a lot of display windows at stores?

Good.

Today is National Wear Red Day, a part of the American Heart Association's month-long celebration of the Go Red for Women awareness and fundraising campaign.

Cardiovascular disease in the U.S. kills approximately one woman every 80 seconds, according to the AHA. But it isn't all bleak; 80 percent of cardiac events may be prevented with education and lifestyle changes. The campaign and the AHA advocate for more research and swifter action for women’s heart health.

Wearing red today raises awareness of the campaign and the importance of research for cardiovascular health and knowledge of heart disease and how it impacts women differently.

I wear red today. My family wears red today.

Red shoes(Photo: Provided)

I am a heart disease survivor.

April 28, 2006, is a day that changed my life.

That’s the day, at age 25, I had a pacemaker implanted. (I got an "upgrade" with a new pacemaker a little more than two years ago.) And while I’ve been living with this lifesaving device now for nearly 12 years, I don't typically give much thought to being a "survivor."

But I am. And today is an opportunity to celebrate that, encourage others to be informed and to help advocate for more research.

The AHA encourages us all to “Know Your Numbers” — knowledge that could save your life.

The five numbers that all women should know to take control of their heart health are:

Total Cholesterol

HDL (good) Cholesterol

Blood Pressure

Blood Sugar

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Knowing these numbers can help us and our healthcare provider determine our risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Learn your numbers; your heart depends on it. It’s time for all women to learn the most critical numbers in their life — their hearts depend on it.

My survival journey started in a most unexpected place: Bangladesh. I left for the southeastern Asia country as a healthy, idealistic 23-year-old in 2004. I returned home from Bangladesh a year later a much different woman. Many of those changes were amazing and positive. But along with that came life-changing damage to my heart.

Thankfully I listened to symptoms and found great cardiac care and am here to wear red today with my two amazing sons.

To learn more about heart disease in women, visit goredforwomen.org. Register for this year's Go Red for Women luncheon on Feb. 16 at the Old National Events Plaza here.